Handpieces are the power units that a dentist utilizes in driving the burs used in the practice of the profession. Most high-speed devices in use today in dentistry are powered by compressed air driving a high speed turbine, which in turn is connected to the various tools and burs used in the patient's mouth. Such turbines may operate at speeds over 400,000 rpm. The bearings in these turbines are usually lubricated with petroleum oils, although there are on the market certain units having ceramic bearings, which are reputed to operate without any lubrication.
Nevertheless, when oil is used as a lubricant there are occasions when the oil may be atomized onto or be splashed onto a freshly cleaned or drilled tooth surface, thereby inhibiting good bonding with fillings or plastic coatings used in the reconstruction or preservation of the tooth. Therefore, it would be beneficial to avoid any condition which might allow oil to enter the mouth during dental procedures. Also, oil stains the device, forming a sticky varnish when heated in an autoclave during sterilization.
Currently, medical devices are typically cleaned daily or weekly by soaking in alcohol, acetone or disinfectant. Typically, there is no cleaning of the device between patients except wiping off the outside. In addition, there is no disinfection or sterilization of devices between patients and there is no lubrication of the devices between patients. In fact, it is impractical to lubricate dental handpieces between patients because typical lubricants used are oil based and have a tendency to cause bonding problems on the teeth due to oil which may come in contact with the enamel on the teeth.
There currently is no practical method to disinfect or sterilize medical devices between patients because chemical baths, chemclaves or autoclaves damage the dental handpieces. In addition, the chemclaves and autoclaves do not remove foreign material such as protein, organisms, and blood from within the dental handpiece. There is therefore a need for a cleaner, which may be a disinfectant and/or sterilant, and lubricant to overcome these difficulties and to make it possible for such devices to be disinfected, lubricated and cleaned between patients.